A Matter of Perspective
by SkyGem
Summary: When six-year-old Midoriya Izuku is kidnapped right out of his own front yard, it takes four years for them to find him again. But the boy that comes back isn't the sweet, cheerful boy that was taken. This boy is hurt and broken, and All Might finds he can't bring himself to let go. (Or alternatively, the AU where All For One chose Izuku as his protégé instead of Shigaraki Tomura.)
1. The Prologue

Summary: When six-year-old Midoriya Izuku is kidnapped right out of his own front yard, it takes four years for them to find him again. But the boy that comes back isn't the sweet, cheerful boy that was taken. This boy is hurt and broken, and All Might finds he can't bring himself to let go. (Or alternatively, the AU where All For One chose Izuku as his protégé instead of Shigaraki Tomura.)

* * *

 **The Prologue**

* * *

" _So nobody came to save you, did they, little one?"_

 _The child flinches slightly at being addressed, and looks up._

 _He's cowering against the wall, all curled in on himself and trembling._

 _His unruly black hair is dirty and matted, his clothes torn and hanging off his too thin frame._

 _But there's something there, behind the fear in his big green eyes – a brilliant spark of intelligence, a hunger to learn, a determination to reach his goal, the tell-tale sign of a sharp mind._

" _It must have been so hard for you...Midoriya Izuku."_

 _The child looks up at the sound of his own name, a flicker of interest in his gaze, a flicker of hope._

 _He leans forwards slightly._

"' _Just wait, a hero will come to his rescue,' they say, and, so assured, everyone makes as though they don't even see you there."_

 _The child's lips are trembling now, his eyes swimming with unshed tears, but he refuses to let them fall._

" _Who is it that made society this warped, I wonder?" he asks, kneeling down and offering a hand to the child. "You did nothing wrong, little one."_

 _The child leans forward slightly more, reaching slowly out to take the offered hand._

 _He gently tugs the child to his feet and hand in hand, they leave the decrepit building._

 _The various police officers and detectives on the scene part around the two, like water parting around a rock in a stream._

 _No one even seems to notice their presence, and whereas an older child may have noticed how suspicious that was, Midoriya Izuku is blissfully unaware; clinging to his saviour's hand as they walk, gaze cast downwards._

 _He makes sure to keep up their little notice-me-not bubble until he and the child are well away from the building._

 _Patting the child reassuringly on the head, he smiles._

" _It's okay now…"_

* * *

"FOR I AM HERE!"

A sharp intake of breath.

Ten-year-old Izuku's throat closes up as his suspicions are confirmed.

His hands are trembling where he's still clutching the doorknob with a white-knuckled grip, and there's an icy panic gripping at his heart, freezing him in place.

 _The heroes have found their headquarters_.

His sensei is trading blows with the **strongest man on Earth,** and he's losing. And logically, Izuku knows he should be doing something, should be calling for reinforcements. But his heart is pounding so hard, he can hear his blood rushing in his ears, and he can't tear his eyes away from the battle.

His breath is coming in short little gasps.

The battle has brought the two fighters closer to him, and just as Izuku's almost convinced himself to move, to go call for Agakuro-nii, his eyes meet All Might's.

And the man stumbles.

His eyes go wide, and Izuku can see his mouth forming around the words, _'a child.'_

He's stunned, but it lasts only a split second.

And then Sensei drags him back into the fight.

The tide seems to shift in Sensei's favour after that, and it's not hard to see why.

Even Izuku, young as he is, can see All Might visibly straining, trying to keep the fight as far away from him as possible.

Izuku is once again frozen to his spot, unable to move.

It's during a lull in the fight, after he's knocked Sensei into a wall, that All Might turns to look at Izuku again.

" _RUN!"_ he screams, his expression is desperate as he stumbles one step towards Izuku. _"There are other heroes on their way! They will s-"_

And suddenly, he pitches forward. And there's blood pouring out a gash in his side as his distraction costs him deeply.

Izuku swallows a scream, reaching forwards on reflex.

And in the next second, Sensei is above All Might, about to strike the final blow.

Izuku doesn't even have time to think.

Before he even knows what's happening, his feet are carrying him forwards, tackling an unsuspecting Sensei to the ground.

He's knocked away by Sensei just seconds later, with a backhand that promises _punishment_ for Izuku when all this is over.

But he doesn't care.

His reckless actions had given All Might the precious few seconds needed to get back on his feet.

And as Izuku scuttles away, he watches his hero wind up for one of his Smashes, and he feels triumph building in his chest.

Because his Sensei was _**wrong**_.

Even if it took them four years to do it, the heroes _did_ come to save him.

And that's good enough for Izuku.

* * *

SkyGem: And that's it for now! So, what did you guys think? Like it so far? Hate it? Please leave a review and let me know what you think! And just in case anyone was confused, the first part of the chapter before the line break was somewhat of a flashback, to when Sensei first took Izuku under his wing, and the second part was four years later (the "present"), as All Might was saving Izuku. A lot of chapters in the future will be using this format.

Anyways, in case any of you are wondering, yes, this fic _is_ actually based on an AU I've posted on my tumblr, which actually ended up getting a lot more attention than I was expecting it to. If anyone wants to read the posts in this au, you can find the link to it on my "Alternate Universes" page on my tumblr (url is: skygemspeaks). The au is called "All for One AU." Though I have to warn you, it does have a _lot_ of spoilers for what I'm planning on writing in this fic, so if you want it all to be a surprise, you might want to stay away from it.

Thanks again for reading this guys, and I'll see you all next time!


	2. 1st Punch

The five seconds after Izuku's reckless interference with All Might and Sensei's battle are some of the longest seconds of the ten-year-old's life.

The only thing he can hear as he scuttles back out of the range of fire is the roar of blood in his ears, and the violent thumping of his own heart.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees All Might wind up for a Texas Smash, his movements so slow it's as if he's moving through molasses.

And Sensei, still facing away from him, starts to turn back around, movements just as excruciatingly slow as All Might's.

His eyes are still on Izuku, piercing right through to the very centre of his being, when All Might's Smash arrives, and suddenly…it's over.

There's the sickening crunch of a skull shattering like an eggshell, a sound that Izuku just knows will haunt him for the rest of his life, and suddenly, time kicks back to full speed.

Sensei is dead before he's even had a chance to process what's happened, his body crumpling to the floor on top of Izuku, and pinning the child to the ground.

Izuku panics as the taste of iron fills his mouth, and finds himself choking on the stench of rust that suddenly assaults his nostrils. He sobs, struggling for a few minutes before he's finally able to push the dead weight off him and sit up.

As he struggles slowly to his feet, it feels like his head is stuffed full of cotton, the edges of his vision swimming with darkness. He feels almost numb, and when his eyes land on All Might's prone form on the ground a few feet away, having collapsed from exhaustion and blood loss, it takes a moment for Izuku to process what he's seeing.

"A-All Might?" he stutters, voice quiet as he stumbles towards the man. He drops to the ground next to his idol, panicking as he wonders what he's supposed to do here.

Another sob wracks his entire body, and he raises a clenched hand to wipe his tears away. Dimly, an idea comes into his mind, a memory from a time long gone-

 _("Stupid Deku, crying isn't going to solve anything. You have to press hard on the cut to make it stop bleeding, everyone knows that-")_

-he starts clumsily trying to pull his t-shirt off. Wadding the material up, he presses it gingerly to what looks like the worst of All Might's injuries – a deep, nasty-looking gash in his side.

He bites his lip, trying not to cry as the cloth soaks through almost immediately, coating his hands in red, but he doesn't take his hand away, because he doesn't know what else to do.

His vision is already blurry when he feels a huge hand come to rest on his head, startling him. Looking up, he sees a wide smile, and deep blue eyes staring at him.

"Don't cry, my boy," says All Might, his voice soft and breathy. "Everything will be fine now. Why?"

Izuku hiccupps, trying to get the words out. "B-because you're here," he stutters, lips pulling into a wobbly smile.

All Might's smile widens a fraction.

"That's…right…" he says, voice trailing off.

Izuku feels his heart stop.

"A-All Might?" he asks, leaning forward in panic. "All M-!"

He's cut off by a sudden crash from behind him, and the thunder of footsteps.

Izuku jumps to his feet and moves to stand protectively in front of All Might – there's no way he's going to let anyone hurt All Might.

But when he turns around, instead of seeing Agakuro or any of Sensei's other allies like he'd half-expected, Izuku's eyes land first on a tall, imposing man with broad shoulders and a torso wrapped in thick muscles, flames trailing behind him like a cape.

 _Flame Hero Endeavor_.

His eyes sweep the abandoned warehouse they're in with practiced efficiency, and just as they land on Izuku, more heroes burst onto the scene behind him.

His eyes widen in alarm, and he barks out an order to his companions that Izuku can't hear properly, and next thing the child knows, there are two unfamiliar women and a man running towards him.

They're all wearing crisp white uniforms with red crosses on them, and as they approach, the man kneels down in front of Izuku while the women pass right by him to drop to the floor next to Izuku.

"Are you alright, kid?" the man asks. "Where are you hurt?"

"Hurt?" asks Izuku, still having trouble processing what's going on. "I-I'm not hurt," he insists after a moment. His hands are cold and clammy, and his head still feels a bit dizzy, but he isn't hurt.

The man nods shortly to himself, then reaches out to cup Izuku's face in both palms, using the thumb of his right hand to pull down Izuku's bottom eyelid.

"What's your name, kid?" the man asks as he vontinues to check Izuku over.

It takes Izuku a moment to understand what he's saying – he's a little distracted listening to the two women working behind him, speaking in rapid fire medical terms that Izuku can't even hope to understand.

"…Midoriya Izuku," he finally answers once he's got his head wrapped around the question, and he can see the man's eyes widen in shock and disbelief.

"Is that right?" he asks, a little faintly. "Izuku-kun, can you tell me what your parents' names are?"

"I don't have a dad," replies Izuku quietly, "But my mom's name is Midoriya Inko."

The man sucks in a shocked breath.

He's quiet for a long moment, staring at Izuku with something akin to awe, before turning back to his colleagues.

Most of the heroes have dispersed throughout the building by now, taking in the damage and probably looking for more villains. A few of them are standing over Sensei's body, discussing something in heated tones.

The doctor manages to catch one of their eyes, and gestures the man over.

After a few more words are exchanged, the man breaks away from his group and starts approaching them. He's wearing a black jacket and pants, black fingerless gloves, and a collar on his neck styled after an old-fashioned stereo.

Izuku realizes with a start that it's Present Mic.

"What's wrong?" asks Mic as soon as he's within hearing distance. "Is All Might going to be okay?"

"All Might will be fine," replies the doctor. "But I need to help the other two with him, so I need you to take care of this child for me, okay? He's not injured, but it looks like he might be going into shock."

"Sure," replied the young hero. "Is that all?"

"No," replied the doctor. "I also need you to call the police. Tell them that we've found Midoriya Izuku."

Present Mic startles when he hears this, and his wide eyes immediately fly to Izuku.

"Midoriya Izuku-kun?" he asks, kneeling down so that he's at eye level with the child.

"Yes?" asks Izuku, head tilted to the side questioningly.

A smile spreads across the man's face, and his eyes go a little misty.

His voice is breathless when he says, "A lot of people have been looking for you for a _very long time_."


	3. 2nd Punch

The first thing he notices as consciousness slowly returns to him is a dull, bone-deep ache throughout his entire body. His limbs are like dead weights, not moving no matter how hard he tries, and even his eyelids feel so heavy he can barely find the strength to open them.

And he should be more panicked than he is, he thinks.

But even in his fuzzy, barely-conscious state, it doesn't take him long to recognize the steady beeping, the rush of footsteps in the hall outside, the constant murmur of quiet conversation.

If he had the energy, he thinks wearily, he would groan.

In the hospital again, for the third time in as many months; he just knows he's going to get a real long lecture from Recovery Girl about this later.

"Finally awake now, are you?" grumbles a familiar voice, and Toshinori finally succeeds in forcing his eyes open.

Turning his head (which takes way more effort than it ought to), he sees a familiar, weathered old face sitting on a chair to his left, features twisted into a grimace.

"Sensei…" he bites out with a groan. "How long…?"

"Four days," replies the older hero. "You were in even worse shape than usual when they brought you in. You almost died, with all the energy Shuuzenji had to use for your body to heal enough to operate on."

"I almost…died…?" he asked, eyebrows furrowing as he tries to remember what exactly had happened. All his memories of that horrendous fight seem to just blur together, making it hard to really pick out any concrete details. The encounter felt like it had to have dragged on for _days_ , though realistically, it really couldn't have been any more than fifteen minutes. The only thing he can really remember with any clarity is…

" _The kid!_ " he gasps suddenly, his heart rate leaping into double time as his mind flies back to messy black curls and wide, frightened green eyes.

His sensei raises an unimpressed eyebrow, and his gaze pointedly travels to a point near Toshinori's right shoulder.

Following the gaze, Toshinori notices a little body curled into his side, little hands clutching tightly at his shirt and using his arm as a pillow.

Something inside him unclenches at the sight, relief flooding his body instantly.

"He hasn't left your side once since the incident," Gran Torino explains, voice sombre, and Toshinori looks up at him in surprise.

"He hasn't?" he asks. "But…what about his parents?"

Gran Torino raises an eyebrow.

"You mean to tell me you don't know who that child is."

"Should I?" asks Toshinori, perplexed.

Gran Torino is silent for a few moments longer, and Toshinori feels his heart break as he recognizes that expression in his old mentor's face - the wary watchfulness, the quiet concern of someone about to deliver bad news.

"His name is Midoriya Izuku."

And suddenly, Toshinori _understands_.

And there's a part of him that's so _unbelievably_ happy because **here he is**.

Midoriya Izuku.

The child that he ( _that_ _ **everyone**_ ) have been looking for for so long now, ever since All Might had _failed_ to save him all those years ago.

Toshinori had always hoped that maybe he'd be able to find peace, when Midoriya-kun was saved, once everything was right with the world again.

But nothing is right with this.

Nothing can change the fact that little Midoriya-kun had been held against his will by that monster for _four whole years_.

And nothing can change the fact that Midoriya Inko is _dead_.

Subconsciously, he feels his arms tighten around the child lying next to him.

"What will happen to him?" he asks, tearing his gaze away from the ten-year-old to look back at Gran Torino.

"They haven't decided yet," replies Gran Torino with a shrug. "There are some people in the government who are suspicious of him."

"Suspicious?" asks Toshinori, voice disbelieving. "What on Earth could they possibly be suspicious of? He is a _child_."

Gran Torino rolls his eyes.

"Well, you know how those politicians are - they'd be suspicious of their own shadow. They haven't really been able to do anything though, as the child's face has been plastered all over the news the entire time you've been out. You know how the masses love a good miracle rescue story, and the media's just been milking it for all its worth."

"It won't stay like that for long, though…" replies Toshinori, his tone dark. "Once the public find something else to coo over, he'll be at the government's mercy…"

Gran Torino grunts in agreement.

"They've already tried their darnedest to put him with Endeavour's family," he says, not even trying to mask the distaste in his voice. "It would be a win-win situation for them. They can have their number 2 hero spying on the kid to make sure he's not gone dark side, while getting on the public's good side too, for putting him with such a prestigious family, who even has a son around his age."

Toshinori can't help the growl that starts building in his chest.

"Over my dead body," he snaps.

Gran Torino shrugs.

"They tried to convince the kid for hours, but he absolutely refused to leave your hospital room. They even tried to bodily remove him, but he cried and screamed so hard that eventually, the doctors and nurses kicked them all out. Apparently, the sound of the kid's crying caused your body to start exhibiting signs of distress."

Toshinori finds he isn't all that surprised.

He hasn't even exchanged more than a few words with the child, but it's absolutely terrifying how quickly he's gotten so attached to him.

"…Does he know yet…? About his mother?" asks Toshinori quietly, looking back at Izuku.

Gran Torino is silent for so long, Toshinori wonders if perhaps his mentor has fallen asleep.

"No," he says, finally.

Toshinori can already feel his eyelids getting heavy again.

"Will you let me tell him?" he asks, fighting against unconsciousness to stay awake for just a few moments longer.

"I can't promise you, but they haven't said anything yet, so it should be fine," admits Gran Torino, voice suspicious. "What are you up to, Toshinori?"

"Nothing at all," murmurs Toshinori in reply, tucking the child closer into his embrace.

He wonders, idly, how hard it would be both a superhero and a single father.


End file.
